Step 1 (descriptive stage)
I feel over the past four years I have become more "connected" educator on social networks. When I was a facilitator and working from home, this is when I really valued being connected with other educators, facilitators and social networks. Before this I was unaware of the potential of learning online. I have been involved in participating and facilitating on online professional learning platforms. At first I felt a bit awkward having to watch myself etc.. but it was the convenience especially being a new mum and working full time. I enjoy learning online, as you able to learn at your own pace. I have engaged in a range of professional learning from brain development of autistic kids - to how to use seesaw. I use seesaw regularly with my students and a vehicle to communicate with parents. I am also connected to a variety of facebook communities, my main motivation is to access resources, mainly reo Māori resources. During my mindlab journey I have recently connected with Google +, even though I had already been a member of a couple closed groups, I was never active until I started mindlab. However I need to extend my networks beyond facebook and start being an active member on such social networks as: twitter, instagram and snapchat.
Step 2 (comparative)
As an ex professional learning provider and I am currently in middle management I am always interested in reading research on ways to engage teachers with professional learning, as currently at my kura we are having issues with motivating and engaging kaiako with the current professional learning we are involved in, after reading Melhuish's Master Thesis, I am thinking is social media the answer to engage kaiako in professional learning? according to Melhuish (1994) "when communities.. are supplied hierarchically .. instead of developing organically.. they are often constructed as belonging to others and are typically underutilized" for example VLN which is owned my the Ministry of Education. We did create a seesaw page so kaiako were able to share their experiences and stories related to the PLD we are currently undertaking, however this was created by a senior teacher and has been underutilized. In reflection, senior management should have let kaiako create their own social networking space and senior teachers become only "critically friends" within that space, alternatively using social networks that are more relevant and engaging to our younger staff members such as snap chat or twitter. Magette.K (2014) talks about how social media can be beneficial for children who are softly spoken. Therefore social media is a space for kaiako who are not confident to speak in front of a large group, this maybe a more comfortable space for them to express themselves.
Step 3 (Critical reflection)
Social media can be beneficial to educators and learners. However there are also many implications involved when we start integrating . Thomas. D (2013) uses the above whakatauki to caution teachers about what they teach ākonga. I also see this whakatauki to caution kaiako and ākonga what they publish online, as it stays there for every. If I have an issue with a colleague, parent or student I still believe in kanoki ki te kanohi (face to face). Thomas. D (2013) also discuss the following Māori values; Manakitanga: respecting themseleves, others and whānau. Kowhiringa: making good choices online. Tautoko: Kaiako and parents need to support their child or ākonga and not to be afraid of technology.
APA Referencing
Education Council.(2013). Social media: Maori perspective [video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/55746031
Magette, K. (2014). Embracing social media : a practical guide to manage risk and leverage opportunity. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.(Available in Unitec library).
Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstr eam/han…
Step 2 (comparative)
As an ex professional learning provider and I am currently in middle management I am always interested in reading research on ways to engage teachers with professional learning, as currently at my kura we are having issues with motivating and engaging kaiako with the current professional learning we are involved in, after reading Melhuish's Master Thesis, I am thinking is social media the answer to engage kaiako in professional learning? according to Melhuish (1994) "when communities.. are supplied hierarchically .. instead of developing organically.. they are often constructed as belonging to others and are typically underutilized" for example VLN which is owned my the Ministry of Education. We did create a seesaw page so kaiako were able to share their experiences and stories related to the PLD we are currently undertaking, however this was created by a senior teacher and has been underutilized. In reflection, senior management should have let kaiako create their own social networking space and senior teachers become only "critically friends" within that space, alternatively using social networks that are more relevant and engaging to our younger staff members such as snap chat or twitter. Magette.K (2014) talks about how social media can be beneficial for children who are softly spoken. Therefore social media is a space for kaiako who are not confident to speak in front of a large group, this maybe a more comfortable space for them to express themselves.
Step 3 (Critical reflection)
He tō rakau e taea te karo, tēnā he tao kupu kaore e taea te karo.
(A wooden spear can be parried; a word spear cannot be parried. A man can ward off an attack by a taiaha or mere, but he cannot parry the spoken word)
Social media can be beneficial to educators and learners. However there are also many implications involved when we start integrating . Thomas. D (2013) uses the above whakatauki to caution teachers about what they teach ākonga. I also see this whakatauki to caution kaiako and ākonga what they publish online, as it stays there for every. If I have an issue with a colleague, parent or student I still believe in kanoki ki te kanohi (face to face). Thomas. D (2013) also discuss the following Māori values; Manakitanga: respecting themseleves, others and whānau. Kowhiringa: making good choices online. Tautoko: Kaiako and parents need to support their child or ākonga and not to be afraid of technology.
APA Referencing
Education Council.(2013). Social media: Maori perspective [video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/55746031
Magette, K. (2014). Embracing social media : a practical guide to manage risk and leverage opportunity. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.(Available in Unitec library).
Melhuish, K.(2013). Online social networking and its impact on New Zealand educators’ professional learning. Master Thesis. The University of Waikato. Retrieved on 05 May, 2015 from http://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstr eam/han…
Kia ora and thanks for your comments Tania. Reading your blog just made me wonder if using social media to become connected educators is more meaningful it is outside your school or immediate community of colleagues? I am privileged to work in a very collaborative and supportive team. Because of the Mindlab course I have started using Twitter to make new connections. This has been an interesting experience as I come across all sorts of new ideas that I want to look into. While my colleagues and I discuss many ideas and share new resources, the extended community of Twitter certainly adds a lot to this.
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